A postmaster told today how he was robbed at gunpoint by Antoni Imiela, the trophy rapist.

Imiela, whose family settled in County Durham after moving from Poland, was jailed for life for sex attacks on eight women and girls across the South East of England.

At Maidstone Crown Court Mr Justice John Owen sentenced Imiela, known as the M25 rapist, to seven life sentences for each of the rapes and 29 years for the kidnap, attempted rape and indecent assault of a 10-year-old girl.

He told him: "You are a ruthless sexual predator who carefully selected where you could strike at your victims, overwhelming them with force or threats to kill."

He said Imiela, 49, had insisted on his innocence, saying only a beast could have committed such crimes, but Mr Justice Owen said: "You were accurate in your description but you were describing yourself."

But in the 1980s the rapist was terrorising the public with a series of robberies. Towards the end of a 10-month campaign, which saw him carry out raids on post offices across the North East, Imiela burst into Durham Road Post Office in Birtley with a sawn-off shotgun.

Sub-postmaster Tom Brown ignored Imiela's orders to hand over cash until he shoved the gun underneath the glass counter and pressed it into his stomach.

Almost 17 years on, in November, 1987, Tom, who now works at Benton Estate Post Office, recalled the raid: "He had me pinned to the chair with the gun in my stomach. It was horrendous.

"He looked vicious and when I refused at first he cocked the gun. I was terrified. I remember thinking: `This is it' but he took the money and ran off."

Imiela took £3,680 but his career as a robber was coming to an end. On New Year's Eve, 1987, he stole £850 from an off-licence in London and on January 5, 1988, he surrendered to Durham Det Insp Arthur Proud.

His crime spree had started the previous February at a post office in Darlington when he made off with £10,000 after telling staff: "Hand over everything or I'll blow your heads off."

Police believe he fled abroad, only coming back to the North East when he had spent it on high living in Spain.

In October, 1987, he fired a shot when he raided a post office in West Cornforth, County Durham, but fled empty-handed. The following month he clubbed a security guard over the head in a raid in Surrey.

Imiela was jailed for 14 years in May, 1988, after he admitted robbery, attempted robbery, firearms and wounding offences at Teesside Crown Court.

In total he admitted 34 offences and asked for others of burglary and taking cars without consent to be taken into consideration.

Later Det Insp Proud said: "We ate, slept and breathed Imiela. He was mysterious, deep and dangerous and we are satisfied with the jail term he has been given."

He served nine years and, according to friends and family, life behind bars transformed him. He studied for City and Guilds qualifications and gained a reputation as a model inmate, leading to his release in 1997.

As reported yesterday in the Chronicle, his sister Jadwiga, 39, of Newton Aycliffe, has struggled to accept her brother's crimes.

She said: "It is awful to realise he's capable of these things. I feel for the families of all the victims. He must be evil."